The Steeda Styling Guide! How to make it your own Mustang.

Congratulations on joining the Mustang family, one of the longest lasting and most flexible car families ever made. From racers, drag strip fans, boulevard cruisers, from show cars and film stars to just daily drivers and V8 freedom lovers. Now that you have received the keys to your dream pony, its really time to make your own difference. After all, no pony is meant to stay stock from the factory, its just a great blank canvas for you to work on.....

In this blog post and guide we hope to help give you some ideas and also explain the differences in the various changes you can make to your 'stangs looks and other ways you can "make it yours".

Steeda "NFS" Style widebody kit conversion with 22" wheels 

It's clear that there are a LOT of things you can do, and here we are going to concentrate on what the world can see....and by that we mean the outside! 

Lets say there are 4 Main Areas:

1. Colour / Accents / Decals

2. Body kits / Exterior Additions / Spoilers / Hoods

3. Wheels 

4. Lighting / Details 

Each section is complex with a ton of options so lets just take an initial look over them ranging from simple and small to full on.

Colour / Accents / Decals

Decals: Very often someone's first stop when it comes to personalisation This can range from the classic Mustang "Viper stripes" (wait, what? I thought Mustang?) to a Steeda windscreen strip. Club stickers, your instagram tag, or a custom design you love. You can even go the whole hog (wait now we're talking Harley??) and get the car fully wrapped for a full colour change and a totally unique look. Arlon wraps smashed it out of the park with our #Satin Viper Green wrap on the new Q767 Dark Horse demo car and to go even further we added gloss black paint finishes on the front bumper for contrast.

Benn Laidler adding some great but subtle stripes (and an Apache) for maximum attention grabbing style...

Benn has gone all out appearance wise as you can see. his stripes are on a custom bonnet, great wheels, he has a front splitter a rear wing and more ( yeah, and an Apache)

However you don't have to go all out, decals and accents can be small and subtle and still have a big impact. Contrasting wing mirror covers, custom colour brake callipers or brake calliper decals, all kinds of things can add a little personal touch. Just find your local detailer or wrap shop and talk through your ideas!

Colour: This is a very important subject by itself in that each choice you make can affect the overall impact and indeed literally "change the colour of your car" without actually changing it. That's because your eyes key off colours in order to "see" colours. I actually only appreciated this after we did a Velgen wheels photo shoot. 

Ed Offers race red bagged S550 on Velgen split 5 custom gold painted.

Here's Paul's race red S550 but with black 19" Velgen VMB5 wheels. As you can see the red looks like a darker shade, as your eyes key off the black, whereas with Ed's car it looks much brighter red as you key off the bright gold! The difference was even bigger in real when using your eyes and natural light, not in pictures.

This is why small choices can make a big impact. Contrast colours can also make a "monochrome" car pop with a little splash of colour to break things up. For example here is a "black on black" classic look changed up by bringing a splash of colour to the sills to match with the stock orange rear side reflector.

This brings us nicely on to number 2:

Body kit / Additions / Spoilers / Hoods

All the above 3 cars have styling mods to change up the exterior. Ed's bagged car has a nice hoop style GT350 spoiler, but otherwise relies on the airbags and wheels to make the visual impact, whereas Pauls GT has a more subtle ducktail style spoiler and some side scoops. The black car from Auto In is rocking a huge race style wing and rear widow louvres as well as black wheels  and an aggressive front splitter for that race / 'means business' look. As you can see they are all base GT S550 mustangs and yet all completely different. 

These three cars also show off another important factor for "exterior styling" that strictly speaking isn't exterior at all... its your suspension. You might not be bothered about performance AT ALL, but changing your suspension, whether through springs, coilovers or a full airbag setup is a major and important change for the looks of your car, as ride height and rake angle all speak volumes and are key to a strong look and a great stance, whether its slammed like ED's bagged beauty or a nice "OEM plus" look like Steeda springs can offer. OEM springs dont just suck performance wise, they also suck looks wise. 

For me, taste can't be discussed. Whether you likes scoops, or louvres, or spoilers or race-wings or drag style bonnets , that's your choice, but what I WILL point out is that there are two kinds of mods that change the looks of your car.:

A: mods designed just for looks
B: mods designed with a function, that happen to change the looks of your car as well.

This is a crucial difference . If you want a race wing, because you want to get actual down force and performance, then a flimsy "style only wing" wont cut it. Performance wings need to be solid enough to resist huge air pressure and transmit that force through the car to create down force. "Style" spoilers and and splitters will just flap around and do nothing, and if things go bad can even make your aero worse. So choose the right part for what you want. This also applies to bonnets and so on.. Some offer actual light weight and or cooling vents for on track use.. others are just for looks. So make sure you get what you need, or maybe dont pay extra for what you DON'T need. 

For example a carbon spoiler is cool. But if you dont care about weight and performance, why not just get a cheaper replica spoiler and hydro dip it carbon or wrap it with a carbon look? It could do the job fine and save you a ton of money. 

There is also one other KEY thing to bear in mind with any body kit type parts. Finish and Fitting.

Building a cool car with body kits and spoilers is an endeavour and it often HEAVILY relies on how good your body shop is. However expensive your parts are, there is a good chance the body shop will have to "make it fit" using their magical ways.  The cheaper a part is, the more likely that is, but even super expensive carbon parts by well known brands don't mean fitment is going to be perfect..things need finagaling and encouraging in to place.

Also this can reflect on what you choose to start with. For example how do the parts come? Our Ford Performance GT500 Gurney flap spoilers are very popular and rightly so. They come from Ford, give direct OEM fitment, genuine aero benefits through good design and sturdy construction and are pre finished in gloss black and come with a removable and refittable gurney flap. Cool! But they also cost quite a lot.

If you dont really care about removable gurney flaps, or real world performance and want the spoiler colour coded to your cars body colour, you might actually be better off buying a replica that comes unfinished.  You can buy it for 1/4 the price of the Ford wing and use the money saved towards painting it etc. 

The same with bonnets. Carbon is cool but expensive. If you want it colour coded or its just for style, think about a cheaper option like aluminium or fibreglass and have it painted or wrapped or dipped? It might work out better. 

The main takeaway is this:

1. Dont expect parts to come 'ready to fit'.. often they will need prepping and touching up and some love to prep them for fitting. Unless they are OEM parts. This is especially true of carbon parts, however expensive they are. These are usually hand laid and can come with bubbles and imperfect clear coats etc

2. Don't expect parts to actually fit....often they will need prepping and some love to get them to sit nicely. Its all body shop magic. These cars might be mass produced but they are certainly not all the same. Each car is a little different, and when your part gets fitted it needs to be matched up to your car. 

Your body shop can solve all this for you with their black arts and wizardry. Praise to the body shop! So make sure you find a good one before starting out on your widebody crazy car project! 

But to prove me wrong (and right)....Here is Alex P's widebody beast that he built all by himself. Mind you he's a car professional and he said himself it was a massive pain and took ages. But damn good work Alex! He's built a one of a kind monster!

James Q767R Mach 1 is built with a very specific look in mind, as a tribute to the V8 Supercars, but ALSO to be very functional! He doesn't have an Apache, but a Michelin race truck is also a good accessory.

Wheels:
Anyone that knows me, knows I am a huge proponent of the #wheelsmakethecar philosophy. They are the only mod that can achieve EVERYTHING in one change.

Increased suspension, acceleration and braking performance, increased mileage, increased style, perfect fitment, increased grip, decreased rotational weight, everything! And as you saw above with the race red example, they can even change your cars colour! Just changing your wheels can give your car a totally new look. Don't think you are limited to just one set.. change a few times if you have had your car a long time. You will be shocked at the transformation.. its like having a new car! (Confession time.. on one of my cars I had 5 different sets of wheels! Anyone else out there like me?)

In fact read our guide here for more: Why You Should Change Your Wheels 

Steeda Trident wheels on a Q767 Mach 1.  Available in 19" or 20"
Having said all that, this only applies if you choose the RIGHT wheels. Here spending is crucial. Yes you can buy cheap wheels, and yes if you ONLY care about style then that might work for you. However the chances are they will not have a perfect fitment, will be weak and potentially bend or deform like cheese if you hit a pothole (or even explode!!) and also possibly increase your rotational weight not decrease it. So what you might gain in style points you will lose in performance, mileage, and so on. So seriously.. Make sure you get good ones.

Lighting / Details 

This is an often overlooked section that can provide really cool little details or even a bold show car statement (I'm looking at you underglow!). Some small tweaks like colour coding your side markers can make a massive difference, but the sort of classy difference people might not even notice, except they think , "wow that car is clean!".

Diode Dynamics Side Markers can light up (stock are just reflectors) and come in red, smoked or clear white finish to replace the orange factory ones.

Underglow is the other end of the scale. Make your show car a REAL show car! It's not subtle at all, and in fact one of the most in your face mods out there.. But frankly I love it.. #bringbacktheglow I say! 

Things like the Diode Dynamics "Demon eyes" are another cool but subtle mod for the 2015-17 Mustangs: Super simple to fit and with a big "cool factor" impact

When it comes to lighting one thing we do say is dont mess with the "main lights", i.e. headlights and taillights which are complex and very strongly regulated, and people often suffer issues when trying to "crack open" the lights to do mods.... You need a skilled team to do it properly and effectively if at all.

Aside from lighting, other small details can bring you quiet satisfaction, and remind people (and yourself) that your Mustang truly is yours....

Start off with a Steeda key ring for example! Especially if you have a Bullitt! (check out our Merchandise section in the menu)

Other small details could be things like wheel nuts colour changes or styles, even nice tyre valves, exhaust tips, or alternative aerials.

And we havent even started talking about the interior yet! But that's for another blog!

Steeda Tips:

My dad had a saying which I try and live by: "Tastes and colours cannot be discussed." meaning that if YOU Like something, then great, enjoy it! Maybe I can't convince you that it's not that good, and maybe you can't convince me that it IS great. That's not the point. The point is that we each make our car into what we like ourselves. Share it with the community for sure, but keep in mind that it's YOUR car. You dont have to do what others do, or like what others like. And if you see something online you don't like, be nice. You don't have to comment! 

Tip two. Dont go overboard (by mistake). One thing that can happen when you are building a car, is that you decide your colour scheme and pick a cool accent colour. You add some bronze accent mirror covers to match your new bronze wheels. It looks AWESOME! So you add a bronze accent STEEDA windscreen banner. It looks AWESOME.... but then over the months everything imaginable gets added and also becomes bronze. Somewhere, you don't know where, you totally lost the plot... Dont let it happen to you! Unless the PLAN is to go totally overboard, don't let mod addiction cripple you and your build.. it is real! It can happen just as much outside the car as under it... 
Some people start off with a Mustang... build an awesome Mustang and somehow end up with a track build race car, and they have no idea how it happened.

You can call the Steeda Mod Addiction Hotline for help: 0330 0570550 and also advice for all things Mustang and fast Ford... 

But remember it's YOUR car and taste and colours cannot be discussed... But when it comes to speed and handling.....we know... Speed Matters! 

Tag us on Instagram (@steedauk) with your styled Mustang—we’d love to see what you've done!

start browsing here:  Ford Mustang GT Exterior Styling Upgrades